An occasional record of one man's struggle for the salvation of his soul; or, the intersection of the Faith once for all delivered to the saints with the life of a man and a father.

The Lies of the Lost Finale

If you DVR’ed the finale and haven’t watch it yet, do not read further. Spoilers ahead. And one bit of a disappointed rant on the finale.

First off: they LIED to us. After repeatedly telling us that the cast was not in purgatory, guess what? They were in purgatory. I admit I was suckered in to the whole “reunion” meme, but when Hurley took Sayid to the bar and there was Shannon and Boone and Hurley looking all smug and smiley and such, I knew in my gut right then we’d been lied to. But I still held out hope it would get better.

In fact, through all but the last half hour or so of the finale, I was enjoying it. Sure I thought killing the Smoke Monster was a bit too easy. All that build up and they just push him off the cliff? Well, okay, whatever.

But I should have known. It’s not like there wasn’t forewarning throughout this entire season. Remember Benjamin Linus’ redemption? Weren’t you just thinking, “That is so perfect!”? And then that’s followed by blowing up the woman he’d just made peace with? Give me a break.

What really tipped off the awful ending to the series though was the episode about the brothers, Jacob and the Man in Black. First of all, I will forever see Allison Janney as Ms. Perky flipping the bird to unseen students (sorry West Wing fans). Asking us to see her as the tragic Jocasta figure was not simply a stretch but a failure. You just can’t do that sort of back story in one forty-two minute episode. But it was a precursor to how they were going to mess up the finale.

More failures: Six seasons building up to Jacob passing on the role of protector of the island to Jack. Then about ten more minutes and Hurley is recruited. And then Ben, who was redeemed, then not, suddenly becomes Staypuff’s best bud and number two protecting the island. Geez Louise.

Oh, and that Ben redemption thing? What a farce. Ben has been one of the only worthwhile storylines to follow, he finally earns his redemption and then in the last episode without any motivation whatsoever, we have him double crossing the Smoke Monster, then Widmore and Zoe, and, well, you gotta figure he did something to Hurley too since at the end he had to stick around to work some stuff out. What a waste.

And that whole ending in the “church” bit? Sure, we all knew that the series writers were using all sorts of odds and ends from various religions, myths, philosophies, literary figures and so forth. We get it. We did not need the stained glass window thrown in our face with all the religious symbolism. Okay. We get it.

Sheesh, if there’s something Hollywood just can never pull off it’s the after life.

And speaking of, and here we’re back to where we started, the series finale breaking all the rules that we were promised weren’t going to be broken: almost none of the picks for the final castaways to Ludicrous Island in the church scene were sensible. Sayid has spent six seasons pining after Nadia. And who does he end up with? The spoiled socialite Shannon. Come. On. Makes you wonder what the dog Vincent did so that he got stuck on the island with Michael. Furthermore, the series has been all about choices and consequences. It’s been the interplay between fate and free will, and free will has always appeared to be the final arbiter. Even Jack’s destiny to become protector of the island was one he freely chose. So, what does a boozing, emotionally distant, philandering surgeon father and husband get compared to his tortured but honorable, conscientious, virtuous son? Eanh, same diff.

No, Damon and Carlton could have just lopped off the last thirty minutes or so of the finale–with no editing, just spliced the film–and then ended with Jack’s eye closing. No cheesy lot of them in the Universal Church of Who Cares. All of the questions left unanswered. And it would have been a way better send off of the series. Heck the Kimmel inspired Bob Hartman ending was better than what we got.

Thanks Messrs Damon and Carlton: the last thirty minutes of your finale ruined the entire series for me. I’ll just scratch my DVD at that point so it can never play those horrible banal minutes and I’ll never again have to watch the sorriest of series finale endings in the history of television.

[…] in Uncategorized at 12:31 pm by Andrea Elizabeth I mostly agree with Benedict Seraphim’s critique of the Lost Finale, but not with his extreme disappointment. I guess my bar is pretty low when it […]

Benedict,
We were told that the Island was not purgatory, and it wasn’t, the flash sideways was. The only other thing I will offer is that Benjamins redemption was not portrayed as being complete in the flash sideways.
I am perhaps one of the few “losties” who was not dissapointed, but then again I wasn’t expecting an amazing epiphany, or anything theologically profound.

Also, the many religious symbols, were in the room where the coffin was, “the waiting room” so to speak. The symbols behind the coffin were entirely Christian, and the symbols on the table were dominated by the Christian altar cross.
Upon entering the Nave, the symbols were not accentuated and the doors that led to the Light or let in the Light were flanked by two angels. Seems to me, that an argument could easily be made the other way, but this is your rant, so I won’t rave😉

The biggest problem with the ending is that it exposed JJ Abrams for (1) Being a liar (“We’re going to explain everything…we promise.”) and (2) being completely unable to tie all the disparate loose ends of what he had created together. So in the end he “cops out” a horrible ending to an otherwise engaging, fun show and then tries to claim it was “always about the characters”? This lie alone is almost worse than his lie (made about season 3) promising not to end LOST like Alias.
Finally; it’s not purgatory and they weren’t all dead. IF they were then WHY would Jack’s father tell him “Everythig that happened, happened.” AND “Some of these people died before you and some of them died a LONG time after you.” None of that dialogue makes any sense if ALL the castaways died in the original plane crash.
JJ Abrams, you can kiss my $$$ goodbye forever; It will be a cold day in hell indeed when I buy any more of your shows, movies, etc.

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Sayings of the Fathers

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina"We are told by the Holy Fathers that we are supposed to see in everything something for our salvation. If you can do this, you can be saved."
Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

St. Herman of Alaska"The true Christian is a warrior making his way through the regiments of the invisible enemy to his heavenly homeland."

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina"Anyone who is attracted merely by glittering censors, incense and beautiful vestments, he, first of all, will fall down before Antichrist."
"Signs of the End Times"

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina"When I became Christian I voluntarily crucified my mind, and all the crosses that I bear have only been a source of joy for me. I have lost nothing, and gained everything."
Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works

Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina"Do not trust your mind too much; thinking must be refined by suffering, or it will not stand the test of these cruel times."
Letters from Father Seraphim

St. Theophan the RecluseHere is a rule for reading:
Before reading you should empty your soul of everything.
Arouse the desire to know about what is being read.
Turn prayerfully to God.
Follow what you are reading with attention and place everything in your open heart.
If something did not reach the heart, stay with it until it reaches.
You should of course read quite slowly.
Stop reading when the soul no longer wants to nourish itself with reading. That means it is full. If the soul finds one passage utterly stunning, stop there and read no more.
The best time for reading the Word of God is in the morning. Lives of saints after the mid-day meal, and Holy Fathers before going to sleep. Thus you can take up a little bit each day.
The Path to Salvation